Spanish Grand Prix: Race Recap

Event: Spanish Grand Prix – Sunday August 16
Location: Circuit de Barcelona – Catalunya, Spain
Layout: 4.655-kilometer (2.892-mile), 16-turn circuit
Weather: Sunny
Air Temps: 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit)
Track Temps: 49 degrees Celsius (120.2 degrees Fahrenheit)
Race Winner: Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes
Team Result: Kevin Magnussen – Started 16th / Finished 15th (Running, completed 65/66 laps)
Romain Grosjean – Started 17th / Finished 19th (Running, completed 64/66 laps)

Recap

Haas F1 Team drivers Kevin Magnussen classified P15 and P19 respectively at the Spanish Grand Prix, held at the Circuit de Barcelona – Catalunya on Sunday. 

Magnussen started the 66-lap encounter, held in hot weather, from P16 on the grid on Pirelli P Zero Red soft tires, rising to P14, as the Dane typically flexed his muscles on the opening lap. Magnussen gradually rose to as high as P9 as the pit stop phase cycled through and when he came in on lap 29 for medium tires he filtered back in P19. Magnussen preserved his delicate tires and managed a one-stop strategy through to the checkered flag, beating Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi by under a second to take P15.

Grosjean adopted a different strategy and began the race on medium tires and rose to P15 by the time he exchanged that compound for fresh soft tires at mid-distance. Grosjean attempted to maintain those tires for the remainder of the race but a moment at Turn 7 with a few laps to go prompted a second stop. The mechanics serviced Grosjean’s VF-20 for a second time and he took on softs to complete the race in P19. 

Haas F1 Team maintains ninth position in the Constructors’ Championship with one point.

Reigning World Champion Lewis Hamilton dominated proceedings to take his fourth win from six events this season, ahead of Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen and Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas. 

Haas F1 Team will be back in action for the Belgian Grand Prix, to be held at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, from August 28 to 30.

 

Romain Grosjean, Driver No. 8, Haas F1 Team

“From lap one to the last lap, it wasn’t good. The car was a handful. I just can’t understand what has happened since Friday. Our long runs, short runs, everything was fast and competitive on Friday – everything was under control. I can’t explain why it was so good then, and not the rest of the weekend. It was just not fun today. It was a tough day at the office.”

 

Kevin Magnussen, Driver No. 20, Haas F1 Team

“I think we did everything we could today. On our side, I think we just missed some pace, which is of course a very crucial thing. In terms of driving the race, and strategy, everything we thought we needed to do before the race – we did. We made a one-stop work, got a good start, I overtook when I needed to, got the balance right in the car, and all the communication from the team to me went well. It felt like a good race, it’s just that the result isn’t so good. It’s just down to pace, I guess. Other than that, we did the best that we could.” 

 

Guenther Steiner, Team Principal, Haas F1 Team

“It wasn’t the result we wanted to have. It’s just always trying to execute, do something to find some magic – but the magic didn’t work today. This is where we are at for now. In Belgium we will see what the change in the engine modes does. I don’t want to jump too much for joy, as I want to see first how it works out and what it does. I don’t think everything is the engine, I think we’ve got work to do on the car as well. It’s difficult for us this year in the circumstances we’re in. The positives, our drivers drove hard today – they did the best they could. Everybody worked hard to get the best out of our package, this is the best we can do at the moment.”